`FATHER'S DAY' PLAYWRIGHT HASN'T DONE ACTORS ANY FAVOR.Byline: Julio Martinez Julio Martinez is the weekly host of KPFK Radio’s Arts in Review, is a theatre critic for Daily Variety and Features Editor of Latin Heat Magazine. His articles have appeared in Los Angeles Times Magazine, The Hollywood Reporter, Backstage West, L.A. Special to the Daily News The venerable North Hollywood-based Group Repertory Theatre repertory theatre Production of several different plays in a single season by a resident acting company. The plays chosen may be classic works by famous dramatists or new works by emerging playwrights, and the companies that perform them often serve as a training ground for has presented such a laudable laud·a·ble adj. Healthy; favorable. body of stage work over the course of its 26-year existence, it is perplexing per·plex tr.v. per·plexed, per·plex·ing, per·plex·es 1. To confuse or trouble with uncertainty or doubt. See Synonyms at puzzle. 2. To make confusedly intricate; complicate. how such an unworthy, amateur-level production of Oliver Hailey's wearisome-to-begin-with ``Father's Day'' ever made it to the stage. Hailey's awkward dialogue and go-nowhere premise would test even a brilliant directorial point of view and an outstanding ensemble. Director Malcolm Atterbury hasn't a clue what to do with the material and does not even begin to elicit a plausible performance from his rudderless six-member cast. Set on the terrace of the Central Park West apartment belonging to recently divorced Estelle (Julie Davis), ``Father's Day'' chronicles one long June day of ludicrous gender-bashing by Estelle and her more seasoned divorcee di·vor·cée n. A divorced woman. [French, feminine past participle of divorcer, to divorce, from Old French, from divorce, divorce; see divorce. friends, Louise (Diana Angelina) and Marion (Meia Carr), as the ex-hubbies enjoy their annual daddy day outing with the offspring. The first act belongs to the ladies but the men get their licks in during a second act cocktail party wherein Hailey, with Atterbury's assistance, gives everyone an opportunity to sound ridiculous. The playwright never really gives the women a chance. All the freedom of choice and circumstance is given to the men. The ex hubbies win and it isn't close to being a fair fight. Davis, Angelina and Carr create caricatures that talk at and through each other, never achieving any level of viable conversation. Davis seldom seems to believe the dialogue coming out of her own mouth as she gamely tries to make sense of Estelle, a whining, woebegone woe·be·gone adj. 1. Affected with or marked by deep sorrow, grief, or wretchedness. See Synonyms at sad. 2. Of an inferior or deplorable condition: a rundown, woebegone old shack. drudge who blames all her ills on the fact she and her hubby Harold (Doug Engalla) were both orphans. Angelina's foul-mouthed Louise is portrayed as an ongoing one-note harangue that never varies, whether she is vehemently condemning her ex to death or vehemently pleading with him to return to her. Carr's Marion, the supposedly most well-adjusted of the three, treats each line of dialogue as if it were a new reality, her accent and vocal inflection inflection, in grammar. In many languages, words or parts of words are arranged in formally similar sets consisting of a root, or base, and various affixes. Thus walking, walks, walker have in common the root walk and the affixes -ing, -s, and evolving indiscriminately to fit the situation. The men fare slightly better, mainly because their dialogue isn't as obtuse ob·tuse adj. 1. Lacking quickness of perception or intellect. 2. Not sharp or acute; blunt. . Even so, Engalla struggles with his lines as much as his character struggles with having to tell Estelle there is no hope for a reconciliation and, in fact, he is remarrying. As Harold puts it, ``It's not so bad being an orphan but not so great marrying one.'' Refreshingly, Maurice DiMino's outing as Louise's ex hubby Tom is as calm and understated as Louise's is vitriolic and over the top. Christopher Winfield turns in the most rewarding performance as Marion's amoral a·mor·al adj. 1. Not admitting of moral distinctions or judgments; neither moral nor immoral. 2. Lacking moral sensibility; not caring about right and wrong. , bisexual ex-husband, Richard. Winfield is quite effective as the irresponsible cad who happily absorbs anything that comes his way, woman or man, ex-wife or casual pickup. THE FACTS What: ``Father's Day.'' Where: Group Repertory Theatre, 10900 Burbank Blvd., North Hollywood. Call (818) 769-7529. When: 8 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays, 3 p.m. Sundays; through Oct. 30. Tickets: $16. Our rating: One star. |
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